Study of a plate-electrode XeCl laser with a pulse repetition rate up to 5 kHz

Abstract

The results of the study of a repetitively pulsed XeCl laser with a high rate of pulse repetition and the electrode assembly based on a multi-section discharge gap with inductance-capacitance stabilisation of the discharge are presented. The multi-section discharge gap is formed by 25 pairs of anode — cathode plates. The discharge formed in the interelectrode gap had the dimensions 250 × 12 × 2 mm. The studies were performed using the HCl — Xe — Ne laser mixture at the total pressure up to 3.5 atm. The limit value of the radiation pulse repetition rate was equal to 5 kHz. The meansquare deviation of the pulse energy increased from 0.8 % to 1.6 % in the range of repetition rates from 1 to 4.5 kHz and did not exceed 2.4 % at the frequency 5 kHz. The maximal energy of the laser pulse and the efficiency coefficient were equal to 7.9 mJ and 1.6 %, respectively. The maximal power of laser radiation (31 W) was obtained at the repetition rate 5 kHz. A new technique of measuring the gas flow velocity in the interelectrode gap is proposed. The velocity of gas circulation at the maximal pressure of the mixture did not exceed 18 m s-1. Optical inhomogeneities were observed, caused by a high concentration of electrons in the discharge plasma,by the acoustic wave, arising in the discharge gap, and by the heating of the gas in the discharge.